According to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s (TRAI) Indian telecom services performance indicators report (PIR), India’s digital connectivity continued to expand during the quarter ended March 31, 2026, with the total number of internet subscribers crossing 1.09 billion.
The report showed that total internet subscribers increased from 1,028.61 million at the end of December 2025 to 1,092.79 million by the end of March 2026, registering a quarterly growth rate of 6.24 per cent.
Of the total subscriber base, wireless internet users accounted for 1,046.26 million, while wired internet subscribers stood at 46.54 million.
Broadband services remained the primary growth driver, with the subscriber base increasing by 5.81 per cent from 1,007.35 million to 1,065.88 million during the quarter. Narrowband subscribers rose 26.62 per cent to 26.91 million.
On the telecom side, total telephone subscribers reached 1,330.58 million as of March 31, 2026, representing a 1.87 per cent increase over the previous quarter. Wireless subscribers accounted for 1,282.33 million connections, while wireline subscribers increased 1.86 per cent to 48.25 million.
Overall tele-density improved to 93.26 per cent, with urban tele-density at 151.47 per cent and rural tele-density at 60.46 per cent.
Usage indicators also showed continued improvement. TRAI reported that average revenue per user (ARPU) for wireless services rose 0.76 per cent quarter-on-quarter to Rs 196.04 from Rs 194.57 in December 2025.
Average monthly wireless usage stood at 1,017 minutes per subscriber, while average data consumption reached 26.70 GB per wireless data subscriber per month. Average revenue realisation per GB of data was Rs 7.51.
The sector’s financial performance also improved during the quarter. Gross revenue increased 2.58 per cent quarter-on-quarter to Rs 1.05 trillion, while adjusted gross revenue (AGR) rose 2.90 per cent to Rs 867.16 billion.
